Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Political Candidate Now Accepting Bitcoins For His Campaign

bitcoin.jpg
(Photo by Alexander Kirch via Shutterstock)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

What can't you do with bitcoins? On top of purchasing a Tesla with the virtual currency, it looks like now you can also donate to a politician's campaign.

Michael Glenn, who's running for a seat in the Newport Beach City Council, believes accepting bitcoins for his campaign makes him look like a more open-minded, accessible politician, according to the Daily Pilot. Glenn said he's already received donations through it.

The chief executive of a web development company has owned some bitcoins himself and researched the legality of accepting the digital dough for two months before going through with it.

The bitcoin mania has been stirring headlines lately where even one couple is accepting bitcoins for the sale of their nearly $8 million home. However, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the value in bitcoins dropped significantly after China's largest Bitcoin exchange company stopped taking the currency.

Also worth noting, once you make a purchase with bitcoins, the transactions are irreversible, according to The Verge. “Bitcoin is like cash,” says Nicolas Christin, an assistant research professor at Carnegie Mellon University who has done extensive analysis of Bitcoin. “The only way to get it back is by tracking you down and basically beating you up with a lead pipe.”

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today